Forge of Eternity: Alpha Testing, page 15
Deacon: You still have that big fireball spell, Amalie?
Amalie: I can do a couple Fire Blasts, yeah.
She furrowed her brow as that message came across.
Amalie: I don’t think it’ll do much though, they have some sort of protection buff.
Phelyya: Do you think it’s a spell? If it’s a spell I can take care of it. Uri, can I get a boost?
Uri nodded and we shifted our attention back to the hulking form of Bruce. The large armored man approached with huge stomping steps. His impact on the ground was almost double what it had been previously, the steps distractingly present in my tremorsense. I really hoped that meant his mobility and attack speed would be reduced by the added mass. With how my luck had been, I felt it was a bad idea to assume that was the case.
Deacon: Okay, Phelyya, do your thing and get clear. Amalie, once Phelyya is clear don’t wait.
Deacon: Even if we’re at ground zero for the attack fire it off anyway. I can get the Earthworks up if everyone stays close.
Amalie: Got it
Uri nodded and Phelyya mirrored the gesture a moment later. Uri looked a little apprehensive and I remembered that I hadn’t told them about the Instant Earthworks. The first thing we’re going to do after this fight is discuss our mutual abilities.
“Bruce is halfway to you. If you don’t surrender soon Bruce will get to have some fun,” the giant said, his ever-present smile clearly visible through the vines.
Deacon: Okay, stay close but follow my lead. This fight is going to be more dodging than blocking. Gavin, what’s the cooldown on that spell you cast on me?
Gavin: That ability is unavailable for 10 minutes.
Gavin: Unless you want to try your luck at a 75% chance of getting a 175% increase to all damage taken
Deacon: I’ll pass on that.
Gavin: I have had time to regenerate a fair amount of mana, though. I should be able to help with injuries that aren’t immediately fatal.
Checking the party icons confirmed Gavin’s statement. As I watched, the mana dipped slightly as the injured party members’ health rose. The Gambler’s Blessing buff had worn off during the lull in the fighting and I stared wistfully at the Kinetic Capacitor cooldown timer showing 45 seconds remaining. Bruce was almost within striking range so the chances of everyone living until that ability came off cooldown were slim, especially if whatever Phelyya had planned didn’t work.
Bruce loomed closer and planted one tree trunk of a leg in the ground to ready for a swing. Phelyya started running toward him ahead of the party and Uri pointed at her with his offhand. Phelyya’s speed picked up a little as I saw Uri’s mana drop. Bruce reacted quicker than expected and redirected his strike, aiming at Phelyya instead of me. Uri pointed to Bruce and I saw his mana dip again for a second, Bruce’s movements slowing in turn. It was just enough for Phelyya to duck under the strike and stab a blade into the back of one greave. The green accents in Phelyya’s hair, eyes, and veins glowed for a second as she held the position, then made to sprint away. Her arm was caught by one of the vines on Bruce’s armor, pulling her to her back as she tried to run. The giant raised the foot to stomp at her, but the action pulled the vine taught, allowing her to sever it and disengage.
“Close, but it worked. Getting magic bitch next,” Phelyya said closing the distance to the caster in the far edge of the clearing.
“Deacon, you’d agree that Phelyya’s clear right?” Amalie asked aloud in a voice bordering on panic.
“Yes, aim your thing as low to the ground as you can,” I replied, making sure everyone was as close as they could get. “Everyone, duck when you see the wall.”
A molten fist-sized orb of fire essence flew from the end of Amalie’s wand with more speed than I would have preferred. I activated my Instant Earthworks the second I was certain the attack was past the walls, throwing myself to the ground. The timing was tricky but thick clay walls rose around the party with a six-foot radius. Since we were not instantly engulfed in flames, I assumed my timing was correct. I felt the flash of heat on my back a moment later, though I didn’t lose any health. That was reassuring at least.
“Did you get him?” I asked, pulling myself up into a crouch. He was knocked over at least, I could feel his bulk through the ground a few feet away from the wall.
“Hell yeah!” Amalie cheered, crouching beside me and pumping her fists in the air. “95 Fire damage! You have killed Unknown Player (Bruce)!”
“Let’s go help Phelyya,” I said, moving to stand.
“No, wait,” Amalie grabbed my arm. “Have Phelyya lure the mage closer and we’ll get another use out of this barrier.”
Uri: Phelyya, bring the mage this way and hop the wall
Phelyya: Can’t. Come kill her quick.
Deacon: We’re coming. Everyone, follow me.
I stood and hopped the barrier, noticing the side was charred and rough like kilned clay. That could do some damage on impact, I quickly set the barrier to dissipate harmlessly when the effect ended. Wouldn’t want to get hit with shrapnel from my own defenses. Bruce’s massive form was lying prone, the armor steadily burning, massive flames blocking line of sight to the mage. The moment everyone was over the wall I started a charge around the self-cremating giant.
Phelyya was standing just out of sword-range from the mage, alternating between slashing at her feet and lunging at the enemy. Thick vines were growing from the ground, twisting around her ankles and calves. I increased the speed of our charge, closing half the distance before she turned and noticed us. I immediately felt something wrong with the earth and jumped forward in a roll, narrowly avoiding a set of vines that burst from the forest floor.
“Watch your feet!” I yelled, scrambling back to my feet.
I felt Amalie and Uri fall to the ground hard. We needed everyone together if we had any chance of winning here, I slowed my sprint and turned back to help them. The delay gave the vines time to make another attempt, whipping at my ankles, and I was too slow to dodge. Instead, I ran with forceful kicking steps, ripping the thin plants before they could wind thick enough to stop my momentum. Gavin was trying to rip the vines off Uri’s ankles, standing on the man’s thighs as he lay flat on his face. That was one way to avoid the vines I guess. I noticed a couple of vines winding around his wrists and neck as well, he was going to be tough to free.
Amalie had had far fewer vines restricting her, only a thick one around her waist still holding her in place. There were small smoldering patches on the ground and scorched vines hanging off of her arms and legs. Another of those fireballs might be the deciding factor in our survival here. Executive decision made, I followed Gavin’s example stepped on Uri’s back near his shoulders, eliciting a groan. Firmly planted where vines weren’t yet grabbing me, I stabbed the thick vine holding Amalie down. I grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her into the air, pulling her close to stand on Uri’s lower back.
“Amalie, you’ve got the best chance of dealing enough damage to win this,” I said. “Are you close enough to be effective?”
Uri: What the fuck guys?
“Are we standing on Uri?” Amalie asked, looking down.
I waved the question away. “Not important right now, can you hit her from here?”
“Yeah, but Phelyya’s too close and you’re in my way.”
Uri: I can’t breathe with you on my back. Also, vines are choking me.
I grabbed Amalie around the waist, aimed her toward the enemy, and set her in the grass. The vines immediately wrapped around her feet and ankles. She gave me a look of outrage but I just pointed toward the enemy mage. Phelyya’s legs were completely covered in vines and she was frantically cutting them away as they quested higher. The enemy mage was growing something wooden from the ground near her outstretched hand.
“We aren’t all going to make it to her, the vines are too thick. This entire clearing is covered in them, I can feel them everywhere now that I know what to look for. I’m going to go distract her.”
Uri: Can’t breathe. Damage over time from lack of oxygen.
“Gavin, get the vines off Uri’s neck,” I said, picking the halfling up by his cloak and setting him in front of me. “Keep Uri and Amalie alive. Amalie, fire your spell off so that it hits as soon as I’m in melee range.”
“Your sacrifice is noble and we will sing tales of it for ages,” Gavin said, nodding seriously.
“I’d rather avoid a respawn, but I can’t see a way for us all to survive the battle,” I said, jumping off Uri and running in a wide arc toward the mage. The forceful kicking run was draining my stamina rapidly, and the plants seemed to be anticipating my path. Twice I was snared by a thick vine and stumbled, slowing after the second one to plan my steps with a little more precision. I managed to get within a dozen feet before the mage bothered looking in my direction, plucking the gnarled staff she’d conjured from the ground. She pointed it in my direction and I placed my shield between us as I ran.
The creepers on the ground in front of me writhed, much faster than they’d been previously, and my ankle was caught by a vine that may as well have been made of steel. I engaged Weight of the Mountain, rooting my feet to the ground to avoid toppling over, every joint and muscle in my legs screaming with pain as the force of my run was arrested abruptly. That was not a trick I intended to repeat in the future.
“I’m honestly surprised you made it this far,” she said, a smile in her voice as she began casually walking toward me. “I know I said you only had one chance to surrender, but I am really impressed. We’ve had the occasional sacrifice escape, but all our fights have been significantly one-sided. What do you say?”
“Alright, I surrender,” I said, dropping my shield and sheathing my sword. I held my arms out to the side as the vines crept up my legs, constricting as they went. “I’m Deacon, and you are?”
“You can call me Lottie,” she said, closing the distance as the vines pulled my wrists against my body. “Do you all surrender, or am I only sparing you? Please say it’s just you.”
Amalie: Incoming!
I smiled at the message in my chat log. Lottie’s smile widened in response to mine. I immediately triggered Kinetic Capacitor. As the warmth replaced the pain and fatigue of battle, it occurred to me that fire damage may not be absorbed by the ability. I guess I’ll be finding out the hard way. At the very least it’ll make burning to death less painful. The look of shocked confusion on Lottie’s face right before the explosion was worth it either way.
Deacon - Ferventus
The blast from Amalie’s spell bathed me in flames, setting fire to the vines encasing most of my body. I felt myself flying back from the concussive force, landing hard on my back after a couple of seconds. There was no pain, only motion and warmth from my Kinetic Capacitor effect at the time of impact.
Amalie Valeth strikes you for 17 (85 minus 68 absorbed) damage.
Kinetic Capacitor stores 68 damage.
On Fire (Debuff) - You are currently on fire. You will take 5 damage per second until the fire is neutralized.
On Fire strikes you for 1 (5 minus 4 absorbed) Fire damage.
That was the first damage I’d taken since Bruce went down, putting me at 154 out of 171. I hope Lottie took at least the same amount. It wouldn’t be enough to kill her outright, but it may give us a fighting chance. I felt through the ground to orient myself, the two bodies on the ground about twenty feet in front of me were likely Lottie and Phelyya. The entangling vines we’d been fighting were all still for the moment and the three people moving in from my left must be the rest of my party. According to the party icons in my HUD, Phelyya was still alive, almost unscathed by that blast, but Uri had dipped under the halfway point on his health. Amalie and Gavin were topped up on health, but Gavin was almost out of mana.
On Fire strikes you for 1 (5 minus 4 absorbed) Fire damage.
On Fire strikes you for 1 (5 minus 4 absorbed) Fire damage.
Enough laying about, time to get back to the fight. Considering I was already on the ground I started rolling to put out the fire, which ticked another two precious seconds off my damage mitigation buff before the “On Fire” debuff winked out. I stood up and looked in the direction of Phelyya and the enemy, who had not yet managed to pick themselves up off the ground. By the time I got moving, the party had already descended on the stunned mage, showing no mercy as she attempted to put out the fire and sit up from a prone position. She didn’t have a chance, and I slowed to a jog as the battle concluded.
You are no longer in combat.
You have defeated Unknown Player (???) Level 5 and gained 405 experience.
You have defeated Unknown Player (Bruce) Level 5 and gained 405 experience.
You have defeated Unknown Player (Lottie) Level 5 and gained 405 experience.
Defense increased to level 2!
Sword Proficiency increased to level 2!
Shield Proficiency increased to level 2!
Phelyya Vendatta has reached level 3!
Urivon Temporus has reached level 3!
Gavin Outbuffs has reached level 3!
“Good job everyone and congrats on the levels,” I said, panting as my stamina refilled. “Let’s take a minute and rest, yeah?”
I sat on the ground heavily, letting the last of my active abilities expire as I just focused on breathing. Looking around showed many of the others taking similar actions, Gavin leaning on his staff while Uri collapsed on his back, staring at the sky. That battle was a lot more difficult than the locusts but was infinitely less disturbing from a tanking perspective. Between Gavin’s healing and my new damage mitigation, the pain was present, but never unbearable.
Overall, my mind felt focused during the encounter, like I was able to learn from the fight. More than just numeric experience, portions of the encounter seemed to be highlighted in my memory. A specific angle I’d used to swing my longsword into a vulnerable point and a particularly impressive deflection of an incoming attack stuck out with specific clarity.
“Anyone else have a sort of highlight reel in their brain from that fight?” I asked, looking around. “Like, things related to your fighting technique?’
Uri raised his hand without sitting up, Gavin nodded, and Amalie shrugged. Phelyya just looked at me with a neutral expression, but I expected that.
“That’s your first question after that fight?” Amalie asked, leaning down with her fists on her hips. “We just encountered hostile players above our level and won by the skin of our teeth, and the first thing you want to talk about is your fighting form?”
“Well I don’t expect we’ll find answers to who they were or where they came from, and I wanted to know if I was the only one that walked away with strange memories.”
“I think it’s related to skill increases,” Uri said, sitting up and crossing his legs. “My Rapier Proficiency and Chronomancy are both level two now after that fight. As soon as the increase notification popped up, I realized I’d been slashing more than I should have with my sword. I also feel like the spells are more, I don’t know, mine? I guess?”
“You do use your rapier as though mere contact with the blade is sufficient to cause your enemies injury,” Gavin said. “The first few inches of the tip represent the most danger of the blade. Focus more on thrusts or dragging the tip along exposed areas.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Uri nodded, “you a fencer or something?”
“I am a magician by trade, and that profession led me to meet all sorts. You tend to pick things up here and there.”
“Oh, I know what you all are describing now,” Amalie’s eyes opened wide, “it’s a bit different for me as a VR player, but the system does have a limited ability to impact my memory as well. The skill increases have both a numeric and a performance aspect. My Elemental Evocation increased recently and I noticed in this fight that there was a sort of muscle memory involved in calling forth and manipulating the spells. I didn’t notice anything immediately after the skill increased before, but I was distracted by other things at the time. Speaking of which…”
I looked as she pointed toward the corpses of the dead players, Bruce’s remains greatly diminished but still smoldering. Strange, I would have expected their bodies to despawn after the battle.
“It does appear we have some distractions of our own,” Gavin said, walking over to inspect the closest corpse. “Her corpse and standard clothing remain, but her equipment is no longer present. I wonder if there’s anything worthwhile to explain their motives.”
“People are dicks, they were ganking low-level players for experience,” Phelyya added, inspecting the corpse alongside Gavin. “I don’t think they need another reason. I don’t see any loot. They going to drop loot?”
“Wouldn’t expect them to,” Amalie shook her head, “but I do know why they attacked us. They’re Ferventus.”
“Lady Amalie, would you be so kind as to illuminate me on that subject?” Gavin asked, turning away from the corpse as Phelyya continued to poke it.
“We can do the long version later, but the short version is there are three worthwhile factions in the world. Ferventus is a theocratic faction recruiting gods to their side, primarily the warlock patron types. Dollars to donuts she was a warlock of some corrupted nature deity.”
“Okay, but, like, why?” Phelyya asked, brow furrowing at the question. “I mean, why do you think they’re with that group and aren’t just random players farming experience off weaker players?”
“The sacrifice bit,” Amalie said pointing at the smoking husk that was Bruce, “when we first approached, Bruce told us to get our own sacrifices. Clearly, he was just being a jerk, but sacrifices are a Ferventus thing. I think he may have been testing us to see our response.”
“I think you give the big guy too much credit,” Phelyya said with a snort. “I think he was just playing a character, like Gavin.”
